How to Paint Human Eyes
How to Paint Human Eyes
How to Paint Human Eyes
Let's take a look at some step by step tutorials and techniques I use to paint people, specifically focusing on how to paint eyes with acrylic paint. This lesson is about painting and does not cover drawing skills or address proportion to a great extent. If you learn to use the correct techniques on your already finished drawing, you should do fine.
Accurate Drawing. First, you should start with an accurate drawing of the subject you plan on painting. Some artist use the grid method, while others free hand the initial drawing. One hint that you need to take to heart is this; If you don't have an accurate drawing, do not attempt to paint the person. You more than likely will not achieve a likeness if you don't have a likeness first in pencil.
Painting the eyes. I like to start my portraits with the eyes. Every single time that you paint an eye make sure it contains these elements; overall accurate shape, the upper and lower eye lid, the pupil, the iris, the sclera or white of the eye, the upper and lower lashes, the eyebrow, the corner membrane, and the catch-light.
Components of the Eye. There are a lot of components of the eye and it is the most complicated facial feature to paint. If your painting is not to be too detailed, you can omit the eye lids the corner membrane and maybe even the lashes. The pupil should be black or extremely dark using burnt umber and it usually has a reflection in it. This reflection or catch-light should be two toned, matching the whites of the eyes. The iris will have several tones and is never just one color. The whites of the eyes are never pure white but shades of gray, and will most likely not be the brightest spot on the face or the whole painting. I usually add a tiny bit of red in the corner membrane.
Also, when painting the eyes, remember proportion. There is most usually a distance of one eye width between the two eyes.
Painting the Eye. Paint in the white or sclera first. Now paint in the iris. Fill in the iris area with most of the iris color. Add specks of other color within the iris. The iris is usually quite a few colors. Brown eyes have a touch of black and maybe even yellow. Study your subject for accurate color variation. Use an outliner of a darker shade like burnt sienna and outline the entire iris. Now with the same burnt sienna paint in a pupil. Depending on how the light hits the eye will depend on where the catch-light of the iris will be. Make sure that the catch-light hits both eyes in generally the same spot however. A line painted in over the top of the eye will serve as the upper eyelid. Some people have a definite line to define the lower lid as well. The eyelids should be painted how you see them.
Eyelashes When painting eyelashes, paint what you see as well. In reality peoples eyelashes rarely protrude straight up like a cartoon! Eyelashes are usually seen as protruding slightly upward and sideways. They are usually in small clumps as well. I have found that sometimes when painting a man's eyelashes, less is more. Sometimes they get one or two tiny lashes and that is it. The same hold true for children and even women. Paint a few representative lines to indicate lashes, step back and look at it before going on. Also remember not to create them too long as they will look unnatural.
Eyebrows The last parts of the eye to mention are the brows. You can easily overdo the brows if you aren't careful. Start with an under-painting similar to your shadow color used in the flesh color. This will be the shape of the eyebrow. When you are satisfied that the positioning is correct, use a tine detail brush and with quick short strokes add individual hairs. Make sure to overlap a few and make a few flow off the under-painting. Again, study your subject and review lessons in "How To" books for practice.
Finish Details. You will add tiny but important details now to finish the eye. With a flesh color that is very light, paint in the lower lid. Start on the outer corner and pull the color inward, at least to the center of the iris. This will add realism to the eye. You can use pure white to add wet looking highlights along the lower lid and along the upper lid if you wish. Have fun painting people and the human eye!
This article was first published on Ezinearticles as How to Paint People - Painting Human Eyes - Learning to Paint
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